San Francisco Chiropractor

Today, I have the privilege of sharing with all of you an interview
with a truly unique and caring health professional, Dr. Eben Davis. I
am a big fan of Dr. Davis’ Blog and recommend it to all my readers as a
source of quality health information.

As always, I try to find care providers who can provide valuable
insight into the back care system in order to demystify the process for
every patient.

Dr Davis continues to be a good friend of this site and is even
now a member of our professional editorial board, many years after this
interview.

Q: Can you please share your credentials as a care provider? What are your practice specialties?

A: My degree is D.C. Doctor of
Chiropractic.
I specialize in chronic back, neck and wrist pain. I use a treatment
protocol of my own that I have taught hundreds of doctors around the
world for CTS. And I use
spinal decompression
with the
DRX9000
and DRX9000c for chronic back and neck pain.

Q: Have you ever suffered from back pain yourself? Any other chronic complaint?

A: Yes. I became a
chiropractor
because of my positive experience as a patient with severe
migraine headaches.
I was 26 years old and on disability from work as a stockbroker when a
co-worker recommended I see a chiropractor. The rest is history. I
ended up quitting my job and going back to school to become a
chiropractor.

Q: How do you rate
back pain
in terms of frequency of occurrence in today’s society? Do you see
any particular reasons why back pain is so rampant and often
treatment-resistant?

A: About 80% of the US population will experience a severe bout of back pain at some point in their lives; usually
low back pain.
This is not good, because the #1 risk factor for a back problem to
become chronic (last more than 3 months) is a previous episode of back
pain. Most of the time the pain does not return. But, in some people
the back pain returns and stays with them, which is why they seek
treatment.

Q: How do you think that non-surgical spinal decompression has changed the back care industry?

A: It has provided a logical next step when conservative
treatments, such as chiropractic, medications or physical therapy, fail
to deliver favorable outcomes with disc patients. In the past, patients
would have to learn to live in pain or consider
surgery.

Q: What
back pain treatment
modalities do you embrace and for which particular conditions? What are your thoughts on
diet
and
exercise
as they relate to back pain?

A: Chiropractic. In my biased opinion, it is the #1
treatment method for back and neck pain. It has a very high patient
satisfaction rate; over 80%. It is non-invasive, it is not expensive,
it does not take a lot of time, and it is easy to integrate into a busy
lifestyle. Nonsurgical spinal decompression would be next. Exercise and
nutrition need to be a big part of a
chronic back pain
treatment regimen also. It's very difficult to fix a back problem if a
patient is overweight or obese, or de-conditioned from lack of
exercise. I prefer a plant-based diet, which by nature is
anti-inflammatory. I have witnessed amazing results with plant-based
nutrition.

Q: Are there any back pain therapies you do not care for? Why?

A: I don't care much for conventional traction when it comes to
herniated disc
pain patients. Traction stretches everything and can actually harm disc patients. And, I think patients should
avoid surgery
if at all possible. There are too many risks. But sometimes, it's the only solution.

Q: How do you feel about symptomatic back pain treatment and in particular pharmaceutical treatment?

A: Medical care actually works quite frequently for new
and acute back and neck pain conditions. But who really knows. Maybe
the patients get better on their own, and there are always risks when
you put chemicals into the body. Every year a certain amount of people
die from aspirin and just about every other drug. I don't like putting
chemicals in my body or recommending them.

Q: Can you tell us a little about your blog (a personal favorite of mine)?

A: I wanted to create a forum where I could write about
things that happen in the clinic. Everyone always asks, "where do you
get all your ideas?" Well, I get them from daily interactions with
patients and from a pretty rigorous online research regimen. As it turns
out, I have readers all over the world, and was recently voted Best
Chiropractic Blog in America. It is a very good patient education tool
and has given me good visibility in the medical community. I have a lot
of medical doctors that read my blog daily.

Q: Can you describe some of the more noteworthy or memorable cases of back pain you have treated?

A: I was at work on a Saturday, but I wasn’t working. I
was waiting for a call from a friend, we were on our way to a baseball
game. The phone rang so I answered and it was this lady who said she was
to have surgery the next day and was scared to death. She wanted to
meet me right then. She begged me. I canceled my plans and met her. She
had 3 herniated discs in the low back, one was really bad. She was using
a walker to get around. Anyway, she postponed the surgery and we did
the DRX9000. It did not seem like it was helping as we were half way
through the treatment. She was doing everything I recommended:
plant-based diet, visualization, her home exercises, everything. Then,
all of the sudden, almost overnight, things got better. She returned to
almost normal function, lost 30 lbs, and has stuck with the plant-based
diet. Three years later she is still doing great. There are many great
stories, but this one was special.

Q: Are you familiar with the works of
Dr. John Sarno?
How do you feel about the field of mindbody medicine, as it applies to back pain?

A: Yes. He is the developer of
Tension Myositis Syndrome
(TMS) and treatment methods for same. I have a lot of personal
experience with Mind-Body Medicine. I actually attended a school called
the California Institute of Integral Studies here in San Francisco. I
truly believe that this is the true cause of many chronic back, neck and
extremity ailments, including RSI and CTS, even
fibromyalgia.

Q: What advice do you have for patients who are struggling with back pain right now?

A: Well, in my biased opinion, chiropractic should be the
first choice, then nonsurgical spinal decompression. Maybe a
combination of both. But at the same time we need to adjust all the
other lifestyle knobs in the right direction. Physical, chemical, and
emotional factors need to addressed. The pillow you sleep on, the
mattress you use, your chair at work, your water intake, your stress
levels... everything. Not everyone will do this. But unless you do, you
will never know what could happen if you did.

Thanks to Dr. Davis for his time and wisdom. Please check out
his blog
and be sure to pay him a visit if you require any of his services in the Bay Area.

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